NBA action will soon return on Oct. 26 with a must-watch doubleheader to kick off the 2023-24 season.
2023-24 NBA opening night: Lakers at Nuggets, Suns at Warriors
As first reported by The Athletic, a sensational pair of marquee matchups will usher in the new season.
Tipping off hostilities is a riveting rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and newly minted NBA champions Denver Nuggets.
Compared to the last time both sides met at Crypto.com Arena where the Nuggets completed a four-game sweep to reach the finals, it will be the champs' turn to host LeBron James & Co. to open their first-ever title retention bid.
With key core players Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves signing contract extensions in the offseason, an intact Lakers core will seek to pull off a repeat of their Cinderella run from the play-in to the West Finals — or potentially farther — in the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, a tale of reunions and homecomings will feature in the second match of opening night as Chris Paul and the Golden State Warriors welcome Kevin Durant's Phoenix Suns to their home ground.
In a deal that saw Jordan Poole traded to the Washington Wizards, the seven-time NBA champions welcomed 18-year NBA veteran Paul to their star-studded core alongside the ace troika of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
Meeting the revamped Warriors to begin the new season is a new-look Suns squad led by the one-two punch of Devin Booker and two-time Finals MVP Durant.
The 2023-24 season will mark KD's first full season in Phoenix.
In only eight games played last year, the former NBA MVP produced 26 points on 57% shooting, 6.4 boards, 3.5 dimes, and 0.2 steal per game.
For the league's Christmas day slate, five must-see matches are in store for NBA fans as Bucks-Knicks, 76ers-Heat, Celtics-Lakers, Mavericks-Suns, and Warriors-Nuggets take center stage.
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